Duration: Three years.

Location: San Francisco, California.

Education: In 2002, I got an AA in graphic and web design, and I am now finishing my BFA in photography.

Clients: More often than not, I am very lucky and clients contract me to do conceptual work and portraiture photography, along with storytelling of different traditions and cultures that offer moments of reflection. Some of my oldest clients are Mas Viajes magazine, Mas Cuba magazine and lugaresymas.com. I have also created work for PayPal, Cisco Systems, Pinterest, BBVA, Sandals and Beaches Varadero, GUSTIN Clothing, Stovall & Young, Fry’s Electronics, Minerva Networks, San Jose SaberCats, the Bold Italic, BACb magazine, Oustide Lands and Treasure Island Music Festival, among others.

Career path: My mom is an amazing artist, and my childhood home in Madrid, Spain, was a constantly changing gallery, always full of color and sentiments—a powerful and inspiring home. I was always very creative and even tried painting, but it just wasn’t my thing. My dad let me play with his old Russian camera, a Zenit, when I was thirteen, and soon I was tinkering in the darkroom while the other kids were practicing gymnastics and soccer. I fell in love with it and realized I had found my creative outlet.

But Spanish society, at that time, didn’t see photography as a viable career. So eighteen years ago, I moved from Spain to the United States to study graphic design, which also strongly resonated with me. I co-owned a graphic design company in Silicon Valley for about ten years—it was really fun! But after the firm dissolved as the economy took a dive, I decided to pursue my passion for photography full time. Minor White said, “I am always mentally photographing everything as practice,” and this is exactly how I have always felt, even as a child.

Favorite projects: They are all special in some way. But overall, when I look at my past work, I always manage to find something to improve. This habit always keeps me moving, learning, striving to be better than I was before. Life as an artist is boring if you don’t keep creating, and I am my harshest critic.